The BRZ STI That Subaru Won’t Make

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Early Adopter

I know I can’t be the only one who feels that the internet, and more recently social media, makes it seem like time passes faster than ever. How many times have you scrolled through dozens and dozens of someone’s Instagram photos only to get to something that happened hardly a week ago? With everything being updated constantly and always connected, it’s easy to lose track of time.

On that note, it’s hard to think it’s already been over three years since the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ were first introduced to the roads of America. But in that time a huge community of enthusiasts has grown around the cars.

While the initial hype surrounding the coupes may have subsided a bit, the passion that owners have for these boxer-powered sportscars is as strong as ever.

One of those owners is Nguyen Le, the guy who drives the heavily-modified Subaru BRZ you see here. And like a lot of the country’s most dedicated FR-S and BRZ enthusiasts, he’s been there since day one. Prior to the debut of the BRZ, Nguyen worked as a tech at a Subaru dealership where he learned how to repair and rebuild the brand’s cars from the ground up.

For a while he had a beat-up old Lexus and a Kawasaki motorcycle as his transportation, but when he heard that Subaru would be releasing a rear-wheel drive sportscar he was extremely interested. Like many people, Nguyen followed every move of the car’s development.

In early 2012, a Subaru rep stopped by the dealership with a pre-production BRZ and Nguyen fell in love with the car’s heavily driver-focused attributes. He immediately placed an order, vowing to become one of the first BRZ owners in the USA.

In May of 2012, Nguyen took delivery of his car and quickly began to tinker with it. He began with the simple stuff: fitting lowering springs, larger wheels and an upgraded intake system.

Enter Boost

Nguyen loved the way the car felt with the upgrades, but he knew it was lacking something. Power. Having been around so many turbocharged WRXs and STIs, he knew forced induction was something that needed to happen.

He went with a Full Blown Stage 1 turbo kit, and needless to say, he did all of the install work himself. With boost, the BRZ was initially making a stout 320 horsepower at the rear wheels.

Over the years Nguyen continued to hone the engine setup, more recently adding larger injectors and an E85 tune for an at-the-wheels figure of 401 horsepower and 307lb-ft of torque. Lack of power was no longer an issue.

But making the BRZ faster would be just one of Nguyen’s goals for the build; next he turned his attention to the car’s exterior. He’d been watching the aftermarket grow with great interest, and took a big liking to the Varis wide-body kit.

Nguyen got in touch with Bulletproof Automotive to see about sourcing the kit, and found that it wouldn’t but cheap. But knowing that it would be of high quality, he had to have it. At this point Nguyen decided to go full-out on the build. He sold his motorcycle to help fund the Varis kit and began to gather other parts to take his BRZ to the next level.

It wasn’t until February of this year that he was ready to install all the parts he’d gathered in his house. For the kit install and body work, Nguyen called on his friend Joe Adams at Collins Collision.

Nguyen wanted the car to have an OEM quality look, and that meant great care had to be taken during the install. He also wanted the rear quarters to be fully molded with no exposed rivets.

Along with the full wide-body kit, the car was also fitted with a Varis carbon fiber hood, a Stillen trunk lip and 1600mm-wide carbon wing from a Porsche 993 GT2 Evo2.

Doing What The Factory Won’t

Nguyen wanted the car to sit right with Varis kit with no wheel gap, but also be friendly for daily driving. So he went with a fully adjustable Air Lift kit with V2 management that can be adjusted on the fly.

He also wanted the car to handle well, so he gave it a full performance alignment and fitted a number of other upgrades including Perrin sway bars, Whiteline control arms and more.

Being a huge fan of RWB Porsches, Nguyen knew exactly which wheels he wanted for the car’s makeover: Work Meister S1s with dark gray centers.

The wheels measure 18×10-inch in the front and 18×11-inch at the rear, and if you look behind the spokes you can also see the ’08 STI Brembo brakes fitted at both ends.

Inside the car you’ll find a mix of tasteful upgrades including an ATC Sport carbon fiber steering wheel and a full collection of Alcantara trim from JPM Coachworks.

Nguyen also ordered a set of Recaro RS-G SK2 seats, but they arrived just after Larry’s shoot with the car in Washington DC. Other future plans include more power and a color change to Midnight Purple II from an R34 Skyline.

Because it seems like Subaru is not going to make a turbocharged STI version of the BRZ anytime soon, Nguyen figured he’d make his own. And we think he’s actually done one better, creating one of the nicest and most well-rounded BRZs we’ve ever seen in the United States – or anywhere else for that matter.

I think the BRZ looks the best stock out of the three & god damn Subaru, just make an few STI versions for Christ sake!!! God knows Toyota doesn't have the balls to make a hardcore version & who the fuck is Scion? Says every other country except for America.

I think the BRZ looks the best stock out of the three & god damn Subaru, just make an few STI versions for Christ sake!!! God knows Toyota doesn't have the balls to make a hardcore version & who the fuck is Scion? Says every other country except for America.

I liked these cars before they released, and then after seeing no end to the Rocket Bunny kits they quickly became a bit annoying. I'm liking this build though (even ignoring that it's not in RB drag), it's very well-rounded. And MUCH respect to the owner for molding the flares; I know I'm not alone in thinking exposed rivets look terrible on modern cars.

I liked these cars before they released, and then after seeing no end to the Rocket Bunny kits they quickly became a bit annoying. I'm liking this build though (even ignoring that it's not in RB drag), it's very well-rounded. And MUCH respect to the owner for molding the flares; I know I'm not alone in thinking exposed rivets look terrible on modern cars.

So far my favorite has been the bulletproof. This guy has done a great job and for not owning a company and making a demo car so he can sell parts makes this about as nice in my oppinion. Well done. The owner should be proud

Hey Nguyen, nice car. I have a question. How do you deal with the rain coming through the bonnet vents when it rains? I have similar vents on my car and everything on the motor looks like crap after the rain comes in when it's parked. Any tips for making it like nice like yours?

I heard it's safe for non extended periods aka high boost 400hp mode for a quick drag race or few laps then back to a lower boost 300-350ho mode for daily duty. Also cars are much more reliable running higher fugures with e85 since it burns so clean and reduces temps significantly over regular fuel.

@JDMpurist I did say something similar to yours a few days ago, and many where all over my comment bashing and hitting hard. To make a standard brz/86/frs a decent car you have to spend a fortune. 195hp is not in the fun category in 2015.

This... this BRZ is perfect! I love every bit of it! Having owned one that I put a solid $15k worth of mods into, I could usually find something I didn't love about another person's build, but this is EXACTLY how I'd have mine, given the budget. OK, maybe it needs more JPM Coachworks interior bits Nice work, Nguyen!Here's mine, before I traded it in:

This... this BRZ is perfect! I love every bit of it! Having owned one that I put a solid $15k worth of mods into, I could usually find something I didn't love about another person's build, but this is EXACTLY how I'd have mine, given the budget. OK, maybe it needs more JPM Coachworks interior bits Nice work, Nguyen!Here's mine, before I traded it in:

@turbo BEAMS ae86 That's nice to hear. Don't get me wrong - I like the one piece look, but I just assumed they all crack. My friend just got a kp61 starlet with a molded widebody kit and showed me the cracks all along where the fender and quarter panels meet telling me molding fenders is just the wrong way to go.

His build is similar to one of my dream builds. To build a V35 Skyline GT-R in a similar fashion that Smokey Nagata did. I enjoy seeing builds like this where people make personal upgrades that still pay homage to the companies original work that could have been.

CoreyKononchuk This proves what I've been insisting on all the time, you have to spend a fortune on BRZ/86/FRS to make it a decent fun car, the starting point of 195hp is very shallow in 2015, to get it to move side by side with grandma's GTI you got to be forced induced at least, and that means some $$ to be spent. Soloution would be the return of Nissan S chassis, with entry level of 260hp as base.

Love this, with the molded in panels it looks more like a race car on the road. There's things I'd change sure, but this is a well executed build! Props to Nguyen on going all out and paying attention to the details. Also, if there's one colour that would look better than Blue Mica, it's Midnight Purple II (my favourite ever OEM colour)!!

Love this, with the molded in panels it looks more like a race car on the road. There's things I'd change sure, but this is a well executed build! Props to Nguyen on going all out and paying attention to the details. Also, if there's one colour that would look better than Blue Mica, it's Midnight Purple II (my favourite ever OEM colour)!!

AfroGTO I agree, the dynamic ride height looks perfect to me!If I had this suspension the dynamic setting would be used static as well, and just have an extra high setting to get over speed bumps and up my driveway!

AfroGTO I agree, the dynamic ride height looks perfect to me!If I had this suspension the dynamic setting would be used static as well, and just have an extra high setting to get over speed bumps and up my driveway!

Mahfoodh I hate that horsepower war going on, you cant appreciate that kind of power on the road and on track everything is enjoyable. I race my base RSX everyweek it had 160 hp at the crank like 14 yrs ago. You should see the smile on my face everytime i drive it !

Oompa Actually Varis parts are really nice and very well engineered. All Varis aftermarket vented hoods come with rain guards. The rain guards are basically carbon fiber plates that slip onto the bottom of the hood where the openings are and block the rain. When the rain stops, you can easily just unbolt the rain guards and drive off. Cool little details like that made Varis one of the nicest aero parts manufacturers in the world. Good luck with your build!!

Ice Age There are many people on the forums 6'3"+ that also weigh more than you and are over 60 years old. If they can use the FRS/BRZ as a daily, I'm sure you could as well.

Many times at dealerships they have the seat raised by a couple of inches. Pressing on a lever on the left side lets out the compressed air, making the seat lower several inches.

Also, if you do test drive another twin, don't worry about keeping it under 4k rpm. Gun it, take it out for a spin on a beautiful road. Often times dealers will brush off the BRZ because it's the cheapest car in their lineup, and will often let you get away with more in a test drive.

Ice Age There are many people on the forums 6'3"+ that also weigh more than you and are over 60 years old. If they can use the FRS/BRZ as a daily, I'm sure you could as well.

Many times at dealerships they have the seat raised by a couple of inches. Pressing on a lever on the left side lets out the compressed air, making the seat lower several inches.

Also, if you do test drive another twin, don't worry about keeping it under 4k rpm. Gun it, take it out for a spin on a beautiful road. Often times dealers will brush off the BRZ because it's the cheapest car in their lineup, and will often let you get away with more in a test drive.

Ice Age There are many people on the forums 6'3"+ that also weigh more than you and are over 60 years old. If they can use the FRS/BRZ as a daily, I'm sure you could as well.

Many times at dealerships they have the seat raised by a couple of inches. Pressing on a lever on the left side lets out the compressed air, making the seat lower several inches.

Also, if you do test drive another twin, don't worry about keeping it under 4k rpm. Gun it, take it out for a spin on a beautiful road. Often times dealers will brush off the BRZ because it's the cheapest car in their lineup, and will often let you get away with more in a test drive.

MRinaldi Not with subies awd layout! Understeer will always be there; frustrating you in tight corners. This is because the engine is entirely in front of the axle, like Audi. 50/50 weight dist is not practically achievable. Nissan and BMW awd have a transfer case behind the trans with 2 driveshafts & diffs allowing the engine to be mounted further back. Other designs - Mitsubishi, etc, use transverse mounted engines. Unfortunately, subie/audi layout is all that will work with the boxer style engine. But who am i kidding, I'd still love an awd brz.

MRinaldi Not with subies awd layout! Understeer will always be there; frustrating you in tight corners. This is because the engine is entirely in front of the axle, like Audi. 50/50 weight dist is not practically achievable. Nissan and BMW awd have a transfer case behind the trans with 2 driveshafts & diffs allowing the engine to be mounted further back. Other designs - Mitsubishi, etc, use transverse mounted engines. Unfortunately, subie/audi layout is all that will work with the boxer style engine. But who am i kidding, I'd still love an awd brz.

" He also wanted the rear quarters to be fully molded with no exposed rivets." Praise God! The car looks like what an STI should, well maybe a little wilder than an STI but it looks nice. Great choice on the wheels.

" He also wanted the rear quarters to be fully molded with no exposed rivets." Praise God! The car looks like what an STI should, well maybe a little wilder than an STI but it looks nice. Great choice on the wheels.

" He also wanted the rear quarters to be fully molded with no exposed rivets." Praise God! The car looks like what an STI should, well maybe a little wilder than an STI but it looks nice. Great choice on the wheels.

Ha! This is how an STI should be. Yeah, that's damn true. But Subaru would never build them like that from the factory. 300 HP yeah, 400 at the wheels? Hell no. Warranty claims would be raping them from idiots who don't know how or when to shift.

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